Armed fighters push rebels out of Raqqa

An armed group has expelled rebel Free Syrian Army fighters from their positions in the northern city of Raqqa, a watchdog reported on Wednesday.

"Fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have taken control of the positions of the Ahfad al-Rasul brigade in Raqqa," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

For more than a week, clashes have pitted jihadists against the Ahfad al-Rasul brigade, a part of the mainstream Free Syrian Army. The fighting between the two rebel groups erupted when ISIS attacked Ahfad al-Rasul positions in the city, according to the Observatory and brigade officials.

"They wanted to take our munitions and weapons," an official from Ahfad al-Rasul told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"ISIL wants to control the whole city," said the Observatory's head, Rami Abdel Rahman.